“I’m determined, Jack, to see that girl if I can. Hicks can talk Arabic fast enough; just ask him the Arabic for these words—‘Don’t be afraid—I love you—I cannot speak your tongue,’—and put them down on paper as they are pronounced.”
Jack rallied Gascoigne upon his fancy, which could end in nothing.
“Perhaps not,” replied Gascoigne; “and I should have cared nothing about it, if she had not sung so well. I really believe the way to my heart is through my ear;—however, I shall try to-night, and soon find if she has the feeling which I think she has. Now let us go back: I’m tired of looking at women in garments up to their eyes, and men in dirt up to their foreheads.”
As they entered the house they heard an altercation between Mr and Miss Hicks.
“I shall never give my consent, Julia; one of those midshipmen you turn your nose up at is worth a dozen Hoggs.”
“Now, if we only knew the price of a hog in this country,” observed Easy, “we should be able to calculate our exact value, Ned.”
“A hog, being an unclean animal, is not—”
“Hush,” said Jack.
“Mr Hicks,” replied Miss Julia, “I am mistress of myself and my fortune, and I shall do as I please.”
“Depend upon it, you shall not, Julia. I consider it my duty to prevent you from making an improper match; and, as his Majesty’s representative here, I cannot allow you to marry this young man.”